Places to ride in in Spain/South of France

[BugsBunny]

Hi guys,

My wife and I have locked in our trip to Monte Carlo 6-9 May, 2019 (she hit her sales targets and so its a company sponsored trip with planned activities so probably no cycling these few days).

But, we plan to make an extended trip with a few days before (1-5 May) and after (10-14 May) - where I hope to fit in some rides.

I know Spain is a cycling mecca, but I need to find somewhere where my wife wont be bored to death as she's not a cyclist at all. I had a look at the Stephen Roche cycling website and am thinking I could spend a few days in Majorca. But I'm open to ideas for places in Spain to visit and combine cycling with touristy activities.

My wife is keen on the south of France, but I have very little idea if there are any nice places to ride there. I'm thinking South of France could be where we head after Monte Carlo.

As for equipment, I could either hire a bike or I'm also ok to bring the Brompton (assuming suitable for the climbs/routes).

Appreciate any advice...

Bugs

EDITS: Replaced "Morocco" with "Monte Carlo"... I dunno why I got them mixed up!

[RonK]

Why not walk/cycle/drive the Camino de Compostela. See both France and Spain.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camino_ ... prov=sfti1

[tomness]

i would stay in the south of France. I have done lots of great riding around Nice, including past Monaco and into Italy.

The wife can stay in Nice and laze on beach/shop/go to galleries/eat/drink or whatever takes her fancy. You can head 15min out of town and hit the mountains. Check out Cafe du Cycliste website for a great list of links to rides around Nice. You can hire bikes from them too if you want (I have zero affiliation with the Cafe)

https://www.cafeducycliste.com/where-we-ride/

I have done rides to Mont Chauve, Col de Vence, Antibes, Aspremont & Levens, Col de Eze, Col de Madone, Col de St Roch, Col de Turini, Col de Braus amongst others. Each of those are do able as a ride from Nice (not all in one go).

I can't wait to go back to Nice and ride some of the other cols.

[BugsBunny]

Thanks guys.

I just had a gander at the Café du Cycliste link and I'm blown away by the pics of the climbs around Nice. I also didn't know the brand was based there so that makes it quite handy. I think there is enough for me to explore just in the Nice area insofar as riding and maybe add a hire a car to go exploring tourist attractions with the wife to keep the peace.

Bugs

[cyclotaur]

Ditto for Nice, before and/or after the middle bit. Maybe pick another place for the other half? Get over to Aix-en-Provence perhaps? Plenty for your partner to do there.

Or even head up to Maulecene or Vaison and do a few rides inc Mt Ventoux, though maybe a bit iffy in May. But then again I rode all through Provence first two weeks in June and we only had one day of rain/cold.

[scirocco]

+1 for Nice if you have a spouse to keep happy.

Girona always gets a good rap as combination of awesome cycling territory plus a comfortable size city with great coffee, lifestyle and vibe.

Costa Blanca is good with beach lifestyle and good riding a very short distance inland, although climbs are big hills rather than mountains. Leave the other half at the beach and in 20 minutes you’ll be on quiet beautifully surfaced roads thanks to generous EU funding.

May is too early for Pyrenees or the northern Alps, not really worth considering those areas.

[rowdyflat]

Yep plenty of riding around Nice ,Menton, Monte Carlo all are up the back away from the coast to the hill towns . You can even catch the train some of the way.
Quite big climbs 1000m vertical beautiful and uncrowded amazingly cooler than the coast so take a jacket.

[tomness]

The ride from Nice to La Turbie via the upper Corniche (road) is one of my favourites with views down to Villefranche and Monaco and the Cote Azur. You can then drop down to Menton to the start of the Col de Madone and then back to La Turbie and Nice for a spectacular 70km ride.

For the non biker :
Eze and Saint Agnes are very beautiful villages in the hills above Monaco / Villefranche. You can get to Eze by bus from Nice port. very touristy though. In the other direction from Nice you can go to Entrevaux, another small beautiful mountain village that you can get to via a little train from Nice.

Ventimiglia just over the border in Italy has a big market every Friday, with lots of clothes, bags etc. You can get a train from Nice and Monaco. The train follows right along the coast and is worth the journey. If you head further up one of the valleys beyond Ventimiglia you find a beautiful old village called Dolceacqua full of tight twisty alleys. The main square by the river has some fantastic trattorias, well worth stopping for a meal. I did a ride to here from Nice via the Col be Braus and the back country roads, then back to Nice via the coastal roads. That was a 125km loop.

If you are into art the Chagall museum in Nice is good. As is the Matisse museum. The Rothschild estate on Saint Jean Cap Ferratt is spectacular, especially the grounds. You can even try and find where the Stones recorded Exile on Main st.

[chalkie]

Check my heatmap for rides around Monte Carlo/Nice/Menton
https://www.strava.com/athletes/1038640 ... 67/7.25669
If you need details, let me know.